sc/Vicki, Not sure what a book exchange is. Do you each buy a book, add it to a central 'heap' and take one, other than your own? Will they eventually form part of a discussion?

Not being familiar with either title I looked them up on UK Amazon and see that Little Bee came out under the title The Other Hand over here.
From reading the various comments about each book it seems most people found something of interest in both . . . from strong opinions on refugees to factory farming.
All good subjects for heated discussions, although I have known times when friends have been lost and serious disputes/near fights have been started by the veggie/'Animal Rights' lobby v carnivores. Tread with care. ;-)

Vee -- Thanks for your input. We have a book exchange at my December book group meeting every year. We each bring a book that we have read and that we think will make a good choice for discussion. We bring the books wrapped and then draw numbers to decide in what order we will open them. When it's our turn, we can pick a book to unwrap or we can steal a book that has already been unwrapped -- adds a little excitement. We had to make a rule that a book can only be stolen three times, just in case someone happens to bring a particularly popular book.

The plan would be to discuss the book only if both the giver and the receiver agree that it would be a good choice. Little Bee looks like a good choice, but I'm concerned about the horrific violence that I sense is coming later in the book. I don't like really graphic violence in a book. That's why I have avoided reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and its sequels.

Eating Animals certainly seems like it might provoke some good discussion. It's not simply and plea for going vegetarian, but actually seems to be a thoughtful, well-researched discussion about just what the title says.

We're a pretty civil group, with just one really outspoken member, so we could probably survive a discussion of either ... but you never know. I actually think the discussions are better when we don't all agree about a book.

Hi,
I am reading Little Bee right now for our book club and I have a hard time recommending it. It is a very short book which I don't think is a plus- just personal opinion, I like long books.
It is a real downer of a book. It is unrelentless in its downness. The protagonist to me is a little too sanguine (did I spell that right?) about life and people especially after what happened to her. I also did not find some of the characters or scenes to be very believable.
Part of my feelings about the book might just be in reaction to the last few books we have read. All of them have been down! (It's like someone wrote about in an earlier discussion- Why are all book clubs reading such sad books?)

I don't know anything about your other choice, I have never heard of it,but based on your description, I find it interesting.

theresafic -- I know what you mean about downer books. Many of our book club choices seem to suffer that same trait. I was hoping that Little Bee might have some hopeful parts to it. I really like the writing. I was one of the group who liked Angela's Ashes, because even though it was grim it had some humor and humanity in it.

I really liked Angela's Ashes although I didn't read it for the book club.
Truthfully, I didn't find anything hopeful about Little Bee.
I'm not sure how to do it but I am going to try to suggest to the bookclub for 2011 we choose either nonfiction or a mstery or something besides popular fiction! (It probably won't work, but I think I'll try)

teresa - Good luck with that. What books did your group read last year?

Picking enjoyable yet discussable books is always a challenge. But I prefer not to read those that have graphic violence in them. I think an author can tell a good story without being too graphic. Just my opinion. I do recognize that there must be conflict, however.

I've decided against taking Little Bee or Eating Animals, Although I'm pretty sure that Animals would generate some interesting discussion. We tried to read Omnivore's Dilemma last year and many people couldn't get through it. I'm going with Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, a book I loved ... and it didn't have any rape or mayhem that I recall.

We read
Peebles, Frances De Pontes
The Seamstress

Stein, Garth
The Art of Racing in the Rain
Rachel Kushner
Telex from Cuba

Haddon, Mark
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time

McCann,Colum
Let the Great World Spin

Kathyrn Stockett
The Help
Keri Hulme
The Bone People

Joseph Wallace
Diamond Ruby

Cris Cleave
Little Bee

I did not like Diamond Ruby but the rest of the group did. I thought it was evident the writer was a first time author.
The Bone People was about alcoholism and child abuse. It was really well written but not a fun read.
The help was good and I chose Let the Great World Spin which was also well written and very evocotive of the late 70s, which was a kinda dark and dreary time.
The Curious Incident was about Autism. Very well written and I enjoyed it as it was told from the point of view of the child with Autism.
Telex from Cuba was ok. It took place in the 50s about Cuba prior to Castro and the Americans who lived there.
The Art of Racing in the Wind was written from the perpective of a dog who has an owner who drives race cars. It was cute told from the dog perpective but written in a very simplistic style I did not like.
I really enjoyed the seamtress which takes place in Brazil in the 30, but it was also very horrific in parts.

WHeW! I guess that's it!

We have read:

The Curious Incident
Let the Great World Spin
The Help
and The Bone People.

I really liked The Help, and even though it was difficult to read, I really liked The Bone People. I can't usually stomach stories about child abuse; but as you said, this one was very well written. It was also so different from most books we read.

I wasn't crazy about Let the Great World Spin. It was a little too fragmented for me. It got mixed reviews from the group -- some really liked it, others didn't.

Wow It's amazing how many book clubs read the same book. How do you think that works? Especially the Bone People which didn't seem to even by on the radar.

I thought Little Bee was a pretty good story and left me thinking about the nature of right and wrong and how that may actually be relative despite our best intentions. It is not at all a happy book and the violence is graphic and disturbing. I'm not familiar with Eating Animals so I can't compare.

It is funny how some books really hit the bookclub circuit. I always am interested in hearing about what other bookclubs are readings since it gives me ideas for my own club and I like seeing what titles are commonly read. My prediction is that The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks will be the next non-fiction bookclub darling.

teresa -- It is amazing about the book club choices. I think I may have discovered The Bone People, but I'm not sure where I learned about it. I think the more typical picks get chosen because people talk to others about what they're reading and what other book groups are reading. Plus, there are so many Web sites now that focus on book clubs.

Personally, I like to find books that the other groups aren't reading. Sometimes my picks hit home and other times they don't. For example, as you might guess, I love Karen Joy Fowler's books Sarah Canary, but my book group just didn't appreciate it the way I did. They did enjoy Motherless Brooklyn, another of my favorites. Smilla's Sense of Snow, however, went over like a lead balloon. I had to make a chart of all the characters so they could see how everyone was connected. Ah well. It's all fun anyway.

bookmom - Thanks for the input about Little Bee. I really like the writing, but I don't know if I have the stomach to finish the book. I'm intrigued by the Henrietta Lacks book, though, and may check to see if my library has a copy. Thanks.

I'm glad to hear others enjoyed Little Bee; it might give me something useful to say in the bookclub. I hate to just give negative reviews.

BookMom any other comments you want to make about Little Bee? I thought little bee was too forgiving and too wise for her young age. I'm not sure they would still have been looking for her- or remembered her two years later.
I like the part about Mom cutting off her own finger was amazing. Her Lover turned out to be really one sided though and mean. Little Bee met mostly mean people in the book.

In terms of bookclub selections, I guess your'e right. Books take on their own buzz don't they? People hear about books from others who have read them.
I like to find books other might not read and hopefully a book that is well written as opposed to popularly written, one of my cheif complaints about popular fiction.

theresafic, I read LB well over a year ago and so my comments, out of necessity, can only be very general. I agree that LB may not be the most realistic character around but thought the author did a good job of using her to illustrate the culture clash. The lover was just an a** but the husband was no prize either--regardless of country, the men were each horrid in their own way. I, too, liked the Mom working hard to do the "right" thing but I was not wild about the disastrous ending.

It's true, isn't it, that some quiet books take on a buzz. One of the best books I've read this year is The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy. It is a grim (no pun intended) piece of WWII fiction set in Poland at the close of the war and gives a nod to some elements of the fairy tale. A friend loaned it to me; I'd never heard of it and ended up loving it and recommending it often.